00:00 This episode of the podcast explores the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the movement behind it.

05:45 Discrimination against people with disabilities has a long history, including the enforcement of "ugly laws" in the late 19th century and the rise of eugenics in the early 1900s, which led to institutionalization and forced sterilization of those deemed unfit, ultimately inspiring Nazi Germany's ethnic cleansing.

11:07 After World War II, veterans with disabilities began advocating for their right to live regular lives and not be institutionalized, leading to the emergence of a proto-disability movement, exemplified by Tim Nugent's radical ideas for accessibility at the University of Illinois.

16:10 Mary Lou Breslin, a woman with a disability, faced numerous physical and social barriers throughout her life, including being carried up and down stairs in high school and being denied access to a movie theater, until a friend pointed out that these were civil rights violations.

20:55 Mary Lou Breslin realizes that the discrimination she faced at a movie theater was a civil rights issue and begins to shift her mindset towards adapting the system rather than herself.

26:12 Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act recognized that people with disabilities experienced discrimination and shifted the burden of responsibility from the individual to society, but it was not implemented until a group of disabled individuals staged a 26-day takeover of a federal building, forcing the Carter administration to enforce the law, leading to the founding of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and eventually the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

31:44 The ADA would prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in various arenas, including places like movie theaters, and it forced people to confront and acknowledge the rights of individuals with disabilities.

37:34 President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990, with the support of politicians from both parties and personal connections to disability, marking a significant moment for people with disabilities.

44:05 The ADA, although a significant milestone for people with disabilities, required ongoing advocacy and enforcement to ensure compliance and implementation of its provisions.

49:44 The ADA has led to ongoing fights for accessibility and enforcement, but the younger generation has higher expectations and is fighting for broader disability rights and visibility.

55:23 The legacy of institutionalization in the US, perpetuated by federal policy, intersects with the ADA through the Olmstead decision, which ruled that people with disabilities should have the option to live in their communities rather than being institutionalized against their will, but there is still a long way to go in society accepting disabled people as equals.